UPDATE - Daesh, DHKP-C suspects arrested in Turkey

UPDATES WITH OTHER ANTI-TERROR OPERATIONS; CHANGES HEADLINE, SPOT; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ahmet Akbiyik & Feride Pelin Inal & Mehmet Ali Cintosun & Halil Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) - Several suspected members of the Daesh and DHKP-C terrorist groups were arrested across Turkey on Thursday, according to security officials.

In the central province of Konya, 11 Iraqi nationals with alleged links to the Daesh terrorist group were rounded up during simultaneous anti-terror operations launched across the province, a security source said on condition of anonymity.

In the southeastern province of Gaziantep, a suspect who had been arrested earlier on alleged links to Daesh was remanded in custody, the public prosecutor's office said in a statement.

More than 300 people have lost their lives in Daesh-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the terror organization has targeted civilians in suicide bombings, rocket and gun attacks.

Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to thwart Daesh attacks.

Turkish police also arrested at least nine people over alleged links to the far-left DHKP-C terrorist group during operations across Istanbul, Izmir, and Aydin.

According to the same anonymous sources, anti-terror squads conducted simultaneous raids at 15 locations in Istanbul and in the western coastal city of Izmir, arresting eight people. Another was detained during controls in the western Aydin province.

One long-barrelled weapon, two guns, a hunting rifle as well as several documents and digital equipment were seized during the raids.

The suspects were planning terrorist attacks.

The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, or DHKP-C, is responsible for a number of terror attacks in Turkey including the 2013 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, which martyred a Turkish security guard and injured a Turkish journalist.

The far-left group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.